Gutter guard



Feb. 18, 1969 J. J. ems-row 3,42 ,183

GUTTER GUARD Filed Jan. 18, 1968 //V rum/rare United States Patent ice3,428,183 GUTTER GUARD Joseph J. Bristow, 88 N. Edgewood Ave., LaGrange, Ill. 60525 Filed Jan. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 698,822 US. Cl. 210-474Int. Cl. B0ld 23/02, 23/00 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREDISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Numerous types of guards have beenheretofore proposed for purpose of preventing the accumulation of leavesin gutters. In most of the guards designed means are generally providedfor securing the guard in place on the gutter. Such means are frequentlysomewhat complex or invlove numerous parts and, hence, increase assemblycosts.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved guard forgutters which has a minimum of components for assembly and which lendsitself to large scale manufacturing methods.

Another object is the provision of a gutter guard which may easily beinstalled and removed as required.

These and other objects will be more readily apparent from the followingfurther detailed disclosure and the associated drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, showing the guard inposition on a gutter.

FIGURE 2 is a transverse view taken substantially along line 2-2 ofFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of an alternate sinusoidal element.

Referring to the drawing and particularly to FIGURES l and 2, thenumeral designates a gutter adapted to collect and carry away rainwater.Gutter 10 is secured to the upper part of a wall 11 of a building belowthe edge of the roof 12. The gutter is provided with an outwardly flaredfront wall 13 characteristic of many similarly -designed gutters.

Gutter 10 is held in position on wall 11 by means of a plurality ofoversized horizontally disposed nails extending through the front wall13 of the gutter. That portion of the nail which is wholly within thegutter is frequently enclosed within a tubular casing serving as aspacer to prevent the outer wall 13 from being inadvertently pushedinward. A nail and associated casing combination are designated by thenumeral 14. Although not shown, the gutter alternately may be held inplace by a plurality of straps extending from the front wall 13 of thegutter over the top of the gutter and secured to that portion of theroof 12 just beyond its forward edge 15.

The guard contemplated by the present invention comprises a screen 20which is placed so as to completely cover the open portion of the gutter10. As shown, the guard is of such a size that it extends beyond theedge of the roof 12 as well as beyond the inwardly extending flange 21of the gutter 10.

The screen may be formed of any suitable material which is substantiallyresistant to deformation and corrosion and may be of varying design asto its openings. Copper, aluminum, galvanized steel or plastic can beused to form the screen, the material used being largely de- 3,428,183Patented Feb. 18, 1969 pended upon economics and manufacturingrequirements. The screen openings should be of such a size as to preventleaves or other foreign matter accumulating in the gutter.

In order to allow for varying gutter lengths, the screen is, preferably,formed in intermediate lengths of about four feet each. Accordingly,sufiicient guards can be laid end to end as necessary to completelycover the gutter.

Secured to the underside of the guard and depending therefrom is anelement 22, which, in a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGURES 1 and2, is sinusoidal-like or alternately looped, both horizontally andvertically, resulting in a three dimensional configuration. In general,the sinusoidal-like element is positioned toward the lower edge of thescreen guard, namely the edge which will overlap the edge of the outerwall 13 of the gutter. The sinusoidal-like element may be secured to theunderside of the screen by any appropriate means, such as by use of wireclips 23. If suitable metals are used, the sinusoidallike element may bewelded to the underside of the screen.

The inusoidal-like element should normally be composed of a materialwhich is relatively heavy for a given length as compared to the screen,as the weight of the element extending along the length of the screenand depending therefrom serves to hold the screen in place. A typicalelement can be made of galvanized steel wire of approximately nine gaugein size. For most installations the horizontal width of the alternatingloops of the sinusoidal-like element is preferably within the range ofabout one-half to two inches, while the vertical dimension of thealternating loops of the element should be in the area of about to inch.These dimensions are intended to designate the distance between theextremities of the loops of the element.

When a screen guard having the above described sinusoidal-like element22 secured to its underside is placed on a gutter in the properposition, as shown in the drawing, the forwardly extending front edgesof the element will rest against the inner edge of flange 21 of thegutter, as best illustrated in FIGURE 2. Thus, the screen is retained inposition over the gutter and is prevented from sliding down off thegutter. In addition, due to the alternate high and low configuration ofits sinusoidal-like loops, the element will readily fit over theaforementioned nails 14 or straps holding the gutter to the side of abuilding. Such nails or straps are normally spaced about every two feetalong the length of a gutter. The design of the sinusoidal-like elementis such that reversals are made about every two inches or so wherebyready adjustment may be easily made to properly position the elementswith respect to the nails, straps or other means used to hold the gutteragainst the wall.

The alternate sinusoidal-like element 30 of FIGURE 3 differs from theelement ofFIGURES 1 and 2 primarily in that it is planar rather thanthree dimensional. As shown in FIGURE 3, the modified element 30 iscomposed of alternate loops 31 and 32 extending repeatedly along itslength. For purposes of permitting element 30 to be attached to thescreen in a manner which will hold it substantially in a perpendicularposition with respect to the screen, cross elements 33 may be welded tothe element at appropriate distances. Wire clips, correspondingly, maybe wound through the screen mesh and around each side of the crosselements.

As can be seen, the above described gutter guard may be easily assembledfrom its component parts and readily installed and removed from agutter. Further, the weight and design of the sinusoidal-like elementattached to the underside of the screen, as compared to the weight ofthe screen, permits the screen to be readily retained in position on thegutter and accordingly, resistant to inadvertent removal.

Having described the invention, the same is only intended to be limitedby the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A guard for a gutter comprising a substantially planar screen havingsecured along one edge of the underside thereof and depending therefroma sinusoidal-like element consisting of alternating loops extending bothhorizontally and vertically with respect to the plane of said screen,said element being adapted to have alternate loops abut the innerportion of the outer edge of the gutter to retain said screen inposition on said gutter.

2. A guard as described in claim 1 wherein the alternating loops of saidsinusoidal-like element extend only in a vertical plane with respect tothe plane of said screen.

3. A guard as described in claim 1 wherein said sinusoidal-like elementis composed of steel wire of approximately nine gauge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,101,047 6/1914 Yates 5212 2/1925 Andrews 210477 7/ 1940 Sullivan et a1. 210474 1/1941 Grow 5212 5/1942 Morrissey 5212 3/1962 Hughes 5212 12/ 1962 Goosmann 210474 11/ 1967Wennerstrom 210474 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/1963 Australia.

OTHER REFERENCES American Roofer, July 1949, Gutter Screen.

15 REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner.

C. M. DITLOW, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

